A ship or other surface-floating vessel frequently must be able to deploy and/or retrieve a “line” (e.g., tow rope or cable, towed sensor array, mooring line, etc.) floating at or near the water's surface. For example, an autonomous ship/vessel is frequently deployed from a mother ship and recovered by a mother ship using a mechanism (mounted on the autonomous ship/vessel) that can automatically retrieve and release a line that is towed behind a mother ship. Given the prevalence of autonomous ships/vessels in the Navy, there is a need for a mechanism that can accomplish these tasks quickly and reliably.